Indoor golf



June 7, 1949.

c. s. BARKER INDOOR GOLF` Filed July 24, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 gvwc/wkw@HARLEY S. EAR/(ER June 7, 1949.

C. SSSSSS ER INVENTOR. CHARLEY 5. BAR/(ER Patented June 7, 1949 INDOORGGLF t Charley SfBarken Ithaca, NYY.

- lililicationxlyfl, 1947, )Serial 'N0r77633423 (ClM273-236) TlTheypresentinver"1tion..n relates .to golf .games ad more, particularly .to.an indoor equivalent of outdoor golf.

7'"Theob.jectl-.lof `this `invention .is to construct `frames'that maybe Yplaced...on a`...r.ug..or..iioor to `serve vas holes, .having-@meansfor.. braking the speediof` a ball. and' forl .indicating .howA far! theball would .overrun` .the thole. onfa. regular; `golf course. Y

.Ariiithenl object ,is ,.to. simulate.- a regular outdoorgputting'.courseifindoors'. on .a-.oon space: rof approximately'Iy 9 x 12.

llArither-. object isto'usel three. frames and Vsix A"stations from.each of which. one: ball ...is .shot to each "of the frames by eachicontestant,` .thus providingthe equivalent lof eighteen holes of golf.

Another object is .to so .arrange theirames .andst'ations as to provide.a AWidevariety fof dis tances and relative angularpostions lof .theframe relative to the- .'station.

.Another 'object' ..is\ to provide..means...on said -franies toLbounce.a...ball'.back..after. it. hits the babklf the frame, at a considerablyreducedl speed 'relatively to that with which itstrikes the .frame `but,proportional thereto, and meansfor. measuring the reduced rebound'interms'otlthe distance the ball would have actually. missed .thefholebyrolling'. beyond "it, whereby to. put a.- premium on correct distance`as welltasdirectional accuracy.

"JAno'ther object is. to. construct a' frame suchas referred to above,Lin'the. formof athree-s'ided rectangular. bar- .for layingfiiat. ontheffloor, the 'open side constituting itsfront.end,`thefront ofthe'rear side being undercut ataheight greater 'than the radius andlessthan'thelfdiameterofa 'golf ball to slow up'its rebound.

Another object i`s to construct a frame asabove providingv ahorizontahcup extending forward fronf'therear side at its center,representing the hole.

Another object is to form the above cup of sheti-imaterm formediinto'acnway, the top of which is cut out for a short"*distance from the rearside.'f=to.facilitate'recovery'of' a ball in the cup .without disturbingthe frame.

Another object is to malrlthe lateraLsides oi the irarne 'at"predetermined `'dista'i'ices from Vthe 'rear side'to enablemeasuringthe distance` f ebollnd'bf a"'ba11.

Another"objectisto' indicate'"theI scoring. values on" these sides'corresponding' to "the several-l distances "of rebound to' 'thereby'.indicate accuracy forl distance.

.Utherfandfmore'speic 'objects-.will appear-in the""fllow`ing'detailed'description of one form of construction illustrating thepresent invention, having reference to the accompanying drawings,wherein:

Figure 1 is a plan view of the frame used in the present golf game,

Figure 2 is. al front j elevational view thereof,

Figure 3-1isafs`ide elevationalvview ofl the. same frame,

.FiguresA 4and 5 are sectional-views takennon theIl'nesWLLand"545 ofFigure' 2 respectively,

'and

Figuren Vis apianf'viewiof threeof 'the frames showingf'theirvarrangement 'relative to the posi- .tions 'of fj siii stations "fromwhich fthe' .balls may be shot, on aspace approximately 9'. x 12.

,The framesr are three-sided rectangular bars, preferably 'constructed"of 'square or vrectangular 'Woodstock L1.1/ tci'2"A iti-size. Abar. I.about 9" longforrns4V thev 'r'e'ar "s"ide,`.while"bars.` 2v andr 3lateral sides may be marked ofi' into two or more axial sections, suchIas@ "and"5," preferably'.-by painting" the sectionsl` irl differentcolors, such as eig. red for "'sectio'ns'll` and .l silver. or white forsections 5.""These sectionsmay also'ibe inscribed .with the'scoreindications corresponding to the accuracy in' distance f a"b"all shot soas to 'stop within'the distance ofthe respective sections, as e;"'g."`6"`on. sections 4 and fl on sections 5.

scribed with" al'iigher 'screfsuch as' 8 .to be counted in" the "eventthe'ballA .misses orv comes back 'out ofthe' frame. '.lAn 'arched cupJ2. of sheet'lmterial cut out yatfthetop at I3.-extends forwardlyfrointhe `middle 'ofthe` rear side AI, and may ybei-ined'thereto byscrews'lll, as shown. The `front of 'thereaside` is Yundercut as shownat l at a" height'l'ess 'than "the '.d-.iametercf a 'golf .balljbutmorethan its radius,- depending onfthe amount lof. snubbingor 'brakingaction desir'ed.l Thelhi'gherthe' undercut,'the greater thesnubbingliand the smaller fthe, rebound. -The standard! diameter rof a''golf .ball .is tll. The undercutiin the `'present frame is 1%'insidathe cup and 15%" outside'athe.' cup, beingqlgr deepall 'the'w'ayacross l'the rear side ofthe frame. .The 1% undercut,was found to havesulicient snubbing aetion` to. prevent` thel ball from` being bouncedback out ofthe cup, unless. hit so hard i that Vit would ordinarily.-pass right over Vthe-hole without dropping` in. onfthe regular golfgreens. The lI2'f""'un`dercut4 outside'the cup .was yfound to causesulcient snubbing action.v to cause the ball tov bounce' .backV within fthe red-` section distance from "the rear side,"`if'the ball isA hitonly. hard enough .tov go about 2 .to 5 feet-past .the cup. if therewere no.. obstruction and vtotbounce it back withinthe. silver.section.space,1..if.it is .hitsothat it wouldnormallybecarried about5-to-10feet beyondlthey cup. W

"Di'iiere'nt amounts of undercut mayibeselected in accordance with theamount of snubbing desired and any number of sections may be used anddifferent number of points assigned to the score indications for eachsection accordingly.

A preferred arrangement of the frames on a 9' x 12 space or rug 8 isshown in Figure 6. The frames 9, I and Il are placed as shown at one endof the rug and siX positions are indicated for the six differentstations, numbers l to 8, from which 18 balls are shot by each playerconsecutively, each player hitting three balls from each station, oneball for each frame. This arrangement provides for a variety ofdistances and angles for the eighteen holes thus simulated.

The cup in the present frames is made 3" wide, whereas the standard cupin the greens is 4% in diameter. Accordingly, a score of 4 may becounted if the ball hits the front of the cup in this game, and 3 if itgoes into the cup. If a ball stroked at a reasonable speed hits thefront of the cup, that ball would very likely ring the cup in a regulargolf game.

The undercut may be made slanting downwardly a slightly amount from thecup toward the ends of the rear side of the frame, so as to give agreater rebound to the ball if it hits the rear side farther away fromthe center, thus putting a premium on directional accuracy as well as ondistance.

Many other modifications may obviously be made in the form andarrangement of the frames used in this game without departing from thespirit and scope of this invention, as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In game apparatus for improving the putting technique of golfers, anassemblage comprising an angular three-sided frame formed of a rear walland wings projecting forwardly from and at substantial right angles tothe end zones of such rear wall, and an open-bottom and openendedelement secured to and projecting forwardly from a mid-zone portion ofthe rear wall, the open front end of said element permitting passage ofa putted golf ball into the element, said element having an arched topand an overall height greater than that of the rear wall, said rear wallbeing undercut lengthwise of the length of the wall to form aforwardly-projecting riblike formation extending lengthwise of the upperzone of such rear wall to thereby brake or snub a golf ball driven intocontact with the rear wall by a putt stroke of the golfer, the open rearend of the element extending above the plane of the rib-formation toplace the rib-formation accessible to the interior of the element andcause a putted golf ball entering the element to be subject to thebraking or snubbing action of such formation to thereby control therebound value of such entered ball.

2. An assemblage as in claim 1 characterized in that the vertical heightof the rear-wall undercut is greater than the radius of a golf ball andless than the diameter of such ball.

3. An assemblage as in claim 2 characterized in that the vertical heightof the undercut within the element zone is greater than the undercutheight between the element and the wings of the frame.

4. An assemblage as in claim 1 characterized in that the wings of theframe carry distinctive markings constituting scoring indications ofdistance values based upon the rebound values produced by the braking orsnubbing action of the rib formation.

5. An assemblage as in claim 1 characterized in that the wings of theframe carry distinctive markings constituting scoring indications ofdistance values based upon the rebound values produced by the braking orsnubbing action of the rib formation, said markings distinguishing bycolor with the colors forming zones arranged in succession lengthwise ofeach wing, each zone carrying a value indication to present the scoringvalue of the zone.

6. An assembly as in claim 1 characterized in that the formedball-receiving element is of sheet metal construction and presents across-section of inverted U-shape contour, with its rear open end formedwith inturned flanges carried by the lower end portions of the legs ofthe contour, said flanges being secured to the face of the undercut zoneof the rear wall, the lower edges of the element extending in the planeof the bottoms of the rear wall and wings.

7. An assemblage as in claim 6 characterized in that the rear end zonesof the legs of the element have end contours including an intermediatestep adapted to underlie the rear-wall rib formation, the thickness ofthe ilanges being sufciently less than the depth of the undercut as toprevent contact therewith of the entering ball to thereby render suchball subject to the braking or snubbing action provided by the sectionof the rib formation active between the legs of the element.

8. An assembly as in claim 1 characterized in that the formedball-receiving element is of sheet metal construction and presents across section of inverted U-shape contour, with its rear open end formedwith inturned flanges carried by the lower end portions of the legs ofthe contour, said flanges being secured to the face of the undercut zoneof the rear wall, the lower edges of the element extending in the planeof the bottoms of the rear Wall and wings, a portion of the arched topof the element being cut away from the rear of the element forwardly fora distance approximating half the length of the element and a widthgreater than the diameter of a golf ball to thereby permit removal of anentered ball from the element through such opening without disturbingthe position of the assembly when accurate putting of the ball hascaused the rebound to locate its rest position to be within the rearzone of the element beneath such opening.

CHARLEY S. BARKER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

